Vacuum conveyor belts are widely used for conveying sheets, components, parts, and other work pieces from one place to another in various handling and manufacturing operations. In some cases, the work piece may be operated on, e.g., polished, modified by removal of select portion(s) or addition of supplemental components, etc., while secured to the vacuum conveyor belt.
In order to ensure that articles being conveyed or operated on while secured to the belt, a sufficiently strong vacuum pressure to achieve secure position is typically used. In the course of manipulation of the articles as they are seated on the belt, e.g., positioned in proximity to the belt and subjected to vacuum applied to temporarily position them thereon, conveyed and perhaps operated on while on the belt, and then unseated from the belt, the article may be subjected to shifting of position relative to the surface belt. Such shifting of position may tend to result in damage to the article, particularly in the case of fragile articles, e.g., smooth surfaced optical parts, etc.
The need exists for improved vacuum belts.